Transparency Maldives strongly condemns the commutation of the sentences of Ahmed Adeeb and Abdulla Ziyath, with four days until President Solih’s term expires. This is not only an abuse of the clemency and sentence commutation powers of the President, but represents the epitome of the protection, impunity and privilege enjoyed by political elite who abuse their positions of power and influence.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came into power in 2018, pledging zero tolerance for corruption. Over the past five years we have consistently seen corruption being green-lit, and those implicated in corrupt activities being protected.

Over the past 5 years

• Of the 281 individuals implicated in the MMPRC grand corruption scandal,including former and incumbent state officials, judges and parliamentarians, only three individuals have been convicted in relation to the scandal.
• The report by the Commission on Corruption and State Asset Recoverydetailing the loss of funds has never been published, and efforts have not been made to recover the islands or obtain a fair acquisition value.
• There have been no significant efforts to address key systemic gaps within the laws, regulations and practices that facilitated and protected this grand corruption.

The 2014 audit report on MMPRC, and subsequent investigations revealed that the billions of rufiyaa embezzled in the largest grand corruption scandal in Maldives was orchestrated by Adeeb and Ziyath. This commutation is a blatant betrayal of the principles that underpin a just and accountable society and undermines efforts to combat corruption and kleptocracy.

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